The summer of 2018 will always live in infamy for me as the summer where I bought way too many Criterion Collection blu-rays during one of the 50% off sales. Honestly, I’m swimming in Criterions, and I don’t know how I’m going to make it through them all. So here, in this column, I invite you to keep up with the Criterions with me. Come along, won’t you? The world built by Donna Dietch in her 1986 film Desert Hearts is pretty unexpected. The film is set in 1959, and what the title tells us we should be in forRead More

Over the years, remakes — especially horror remakes — have gained such a sour reputation that even the mere mention of the word is immediately followed by groans, sighs, and rolled eyes. Of course, the main problem with remakes is that we can’t help but compare them to the original works. The other problem is that hardly anything is capable of conquering that beast called nostalgia. We have endless discussions of “what’s wrong with the original?” and “is this even necessary?” with points and counterpoints so meticulous that the whole argument has become exhausting. But what if we took thatRead More

Over the years, remakes — especially horror remakes — have gained such a sour reputation that even the mere mention of the word is immediately followed by groans, sighs, and rolled eyes. Of course, the main problem with remakes is that we can’t help but compare them to the original works. The other problem is that hardly anything is capable of conquering that beast called nostalgia. We have endless discussions of “what’s wrong with the original?” and “is this even necessary?” with points and counterpoints so meticulous that the whole argument has become exhausting. But what if we took that elementRead More

Over the years, remakes — especially horror remakes — have gained such a sour reputation that even the mere mention of the word is immediately followed by groans, sighs, and rolled eyes. Of course, the main problem with remakes is that we can’t help but compare them to the original works. The other problem is that hardly anything is capable of conquering that beast called nostalgia. We have endless discussions of “what’s wrong with the original?” and “is this even necessary?” with points and counterpoints so meticulous that the whole argument has become exhausting. But what if we took that elementRead More

This is REKT, the column where each month one Cinepunx staffer recommends films to the rest of the fam. We may be stoked, or we may be wrecked. This month, it’s Trey Lawson’s turn to do the damage. Here are Elbee‘s thoughts on Johnny Guitar. Admittedly, I may be cheating a little bit by picking this movie. We’re supposed to choose films from the recommendation list that we haven’t seen, or that we have seen and need to re-evaluate, and Johnny Guitar falls into neither for me. But I did watch it only recently, to widen my knowledge of westerns for anRead More

This is REKT, the column where each month one Cinepunx staffer recommends films to the rest of the fam. We may be stoked, or we may be wrecked. This month, it’s Liam’s turn to do the damage. Here are Elbee‘s thoughts on Vigilante. If there’s any hole in my cinematic knowledge, it would have to be exploitation pictures. This isn’t an admission so much as it is an attempt for you readers to understand me and the kind of films I love and appreciate….wait a minute, wow. I already sound like a snob here. What I mean is, I don’tRead More

There’s an old talking point that says when Republicans are in office, we get better horror films. It’s not entirely inaccurate, either; a quick look at the horror boom in the early 1980s probably provides the easiest and best evidence of this idea, considering what was happening not only stateside but in the world. Some of you may be too young to remember the Cold War (I’m old, and I barely do), but with Ronald Reagan’s masterful “Bear in the Woods” tactics tricking America into thinking doom and demise were around the corner, the social climate was set up perfectlyRead More

This is REKT, the column where each month one Cinepunx staffer recommends films to the rest of the fam. We may be stoked, or we may be wrecked. This month, it’s Adrianna Gober’s turn to do the damage. Here are Elbee‘s thoughts on The Duke of Burgundy. Adrianna has been trying to get me to watch The Duke of Burgundy for what seems like decades; this is an absolute fact. When we first discussed the film all those years ago, I told her I had started watching it once and was intrigued, however (as I often do) I fell asleepRead More

This is REKT, the column where each month one Cinepunx staffer recommends films to the rest of the fam. We may be stoked, or we may be wrecked. This month, it’s Justin Harlan’s turn to do the damage. Here are Elbee‘s thoughts on Serendipity. When Justin suggested all John Cusack movies for this month’s recommendations, I have to admit I groaned a bit. I’m not knocking Justin’s taste in movies or his affinity for the man Cusack, but I just knew I’d end up watching and writing about some sappy romantic comedy since that portion of his career is theRead More

Hear ye witches, goblins, and film lovers, things are getting diabolic at this year’s Cinedelphia Film Festival! Presented by PhilaMOCA, 2018 is the 6th year running for CFF – and they’ve affectionately titled this incarnation of the fest “Cinedelphia 666.” This year’s festival theme is centered around “spirituality, the occult, and outsider thought,” with the infernal events kicking off April 12. Opening night of the fest will feature TST founder Lucien Grieves performing a live ritual followed by a screening of the Mexican cult film Alucarda. Other highlights of CFF this year include actress Jessica Harper in attendance for aRead More